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Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

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Published 2020-05-01

Effectively Wild Episode 1536: Three Days at the Ballpark

55 min
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Facing the prospect of a season without fans in the stands, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley console themselves and fight baseball withdrawal by revisiting classic accounts of going to games. The authors of three revered books based on single games—Arnold Hano, the author of A Day in the Bleachers (1955), Dan Okrent, the author of […]
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Published 2020-04-30

Effectively Wild Episode 1535: Leave Me Out, Coach

63 min
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Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and senior writer for The Athletic Andy McCullough banter about the people they would be (or have been) most nervous about interviewing and two new noteworthy articles, then discuss Andy’s and Rustin Dodd’s highly controversial ranking of the 30 greatest baseball songs of all time, the dispute about John Fogerty’s “Centerfield,” […]
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Published 2020-04-28

Effectively Wild Episode 1534: The Stay-at-Home Run Derby

71 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Johnny Vander Meer’s ear boils and the surprisingly ancient origins of the phrase, “A walk is as good as a hit,” then answer listener emails about why some players prove to be flashes in the pan, whether a home run derby would work under current conditions, whether the […]
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Published 2020-04-25

Effectively Wild Episode 1533: It’s Baseball O’Clock Somewhere

94 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about beverage consumption, foreign baseball leagues’ potential for popularity in the U.S., and the life and death of legendary flamethrower Steve Dalkowski, who passed away this week. Then they talk to Rob Liu of CPBLStats.com (25:48) and Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (58:22) about two leagues that have beaten MLB […]
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Published 2020-04-23

Effectively Wild Episode 1532: Dirty Watkins

76 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller discuss the results of MLB’s investigation into Boston Red Sox sign stealing, touching on Boston’s lighter penalties and seemingly lesser offenses compared to the Astros’, whether Boston’s front office and coaches deserved to be absolved, the moral hazard of the advance scout who doubles as a replay-room operator, and more. […]
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Published 2020-04-21

Effectively Wild Episode 1531: His Double-Airness

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Effectively Wild community’s least-disliked MLB teams and two unjust Cy Young/MVP snubs, then discuss what Michael Jordan’s brief baseball career taught us about Jordan and about baseball. Audio intro: Willie Nelson, "Why Do I Have to Choose" Audio outro: Emmylou Harris, "Jordan" Link to EW MLB Survivor game recap […]
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Published 2020-04-20

Effectively Wild Episode 1530: That’s Why They Play the Games

123 min
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With MLB in limbo, Ben Lindbergh investigates virtual baseball, talking to the designers of three new baseball video games—Ramone Russell of Sony San Diego, makers of MLB The Show 20, Markus Heinsohn of Out of the Park Developments, makers of Out of the Park Baseball 21 (37:56), and Scott Drader of Metalhead Software, makers of […]
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Published 2020-04-18

Effectively Wild Episode 1529: Presenting Future Value

99 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley speak to FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel about their new book, Future Value: The Battle for Baseball’s Soul and How Teams Will Find the Next Superstar, touching on topics including the best kinds of scouting stories, how technology and data have confirmed or overturned traditional scouting beliefs, how […]
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Published 2020-04-16

Effectively Wild Episode 1528: The Talented Mr. Henry

77 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the strange story of a man named Bill Henry who impersonated former major league reliever Bill Henry for decades, then answer listener emails about seasons with an ERA+ or OPS+ of 420, teams from the past that they would most want to cover as time-traveling beat writers, and […]
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Published 2020-04-14

Effectively Wild Episode 1527: The Only Rule Revisited

78 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about how runs, hits, and errors became baseball’s standard scoreboard stats and the piecemeal way in which baseball evolves, then reminisce about and reevaluate the 2015 experiment that led to their 2016 book about running the independent league Sonoma Stompers, The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our […]
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Published 2020-04-11

Effectively Wild Episode 1526: The Season of Uncertainty

76 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about new options for supporting FanGraphs and a potential plan to play the 2020 season with a radically realigned league structure, then talk to FanGraphs writer and ZiPS projection system proprietor Dan Szymborski about how a shortened or canceled season would affect projections for 2021, whether players would exceed […]
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Published 2020-04-09

Effectively Wild Episode 1525: Hey All You Cool Sacks and Chickens

66 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about a possible banter shortage, a mysterious sack of flour from 1971, the kinds of baseball stories being published in the absence of baseball, the greatness (and eye-popping pitcher usage) of the 2001 World Series, the October travails of Charlie Leibrandt, and how MLB should approach planning for the […]
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Published 2020-04-07

Effectively Wild Episode 1524: Let’s Read Two

93 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller split up to talk to the authors of two new baseball books. First, Sam speaks to Sports Stories newsletter author Eric Nusbaum about Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between. Then (33:18) Ben brings on Wall Street Journal national baseball writer Jared Diamond to discuss […]
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Published 2020-04-03

Effectively Wild Episode 1523: Do Try This at Home

79 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the response to FanGraphs’ request for financial support, discuss the latest news about minor league pay, Tommy John surgeries, college eligibility, the possibility of baseball coming back, Astros suspensions, and the suspiciously lively ball, and unveil a Stat Blast song cover and a Stat Blast about the longest […]
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Published 2020-04-01

Effectively Wild Episode 1522: Booking It

84 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller talk to Brad Balukjian, author of brand-new baseball book The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife, about the long road (figuratively and literally) that led to the book, how he decided to try to track down the players from an old pack of baseball cards, […]
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Published 2020-03-28

Effectively Wild Episode 1520: Rough Draft

86 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the benefits, uncertainties, and downsides of the deal between MLB and the MLBPA to sort out salary and service time in the event of a shortened or canceled season, whether and how a social distancing-approved version of baseball could be played while maintaining a six-foot minimum distance between […]
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Published 2020-03-26

Effectively Wild Episode 1519: Fauxpening Day

65 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about which types of old games they would want to rewatch, Noah Syndergaard’s Tommy John surgery, and how short is too short for a regular season, then answer listener emails about whether the 2020 title will be tainted by a shortened season, whether MLB should skip the regular season […]
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Published 2020-03-24

Effectively Wild Episode 1518: The Field of Dreams Debate

71 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller revisit Sam’s tradition of viewing the beloved and despised 1989 film Field of Dreams on the eve of Opening Day (or in this case, what would have been Opening Day) and examine how their perceptions of the movie have evolved, what makes Field of Dreams the most divisive baseball movie, […]
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Published 2020-03-21

Effectively Wild Episode 1517: Show Minor Leaguers the Money

79 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about advice for working from home, Chris Sale’s Tommy John surgery, concerns about pitcher health in a shortened season, the possibility of playing more doubleheaders when baseball comes back, how late would be too late for the season to start, the overuse, injury, and treatment of pitcher Wes Ferrell, […]
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Published 2020-03-18

Effectively Wild Episode 1516: The Odds of an Odd Season

66 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller follow up on a previous discussion of advance scouting’s contribution to Kirk Gibson’s legendary 1988 home run and banter about the strangeness of not having a date for Opening Day, then answer listener emails about how to get into baseball for the first time, how a shortened season could affect […]
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Published 2020-03-17

Effectively Wild Episode 1515: The Waiting Game

62 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about life during self-isolation and delayed media consumption and explore some of the long-considered and ultimately rejected article ideas in Sam’s tickler file, including Ken Griffey Jr.’s rap career, an undiscovered baseball star in Yosemite, an advance-scouting conspiracy theory, an unorthodox solution to extra-inning games, and a complaint about […]
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Published 2020-03-13

Effectively Wild Episode 1514: The Fictional Game Goes On

96 min
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In the absence of real baseball (and with plenty of solitary time on fans’ hands), Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley devote an episode to three new fictional depictions of baseball, speaking to novelist Emily Nemens (9:18), the author of spring training tale The Cactus League, novelist Gish Jen (36:56), the author of dystopian baseball saga […]
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Published 2020-03-13

Effectively Wild Episode 1513: Opening Day Nonstarter

34 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to MLB’s COVID-19-caused cancellation of the remainder of spring training and the postponement of Opening Day and discuss the disquieting week and the ramifications for the culture and the 2020 baseball season. Audio intro: Dan Bern, "Ballpark" Audio outro: Frank Sinatra, "I Get Along Without You Very Well" Link to MLB […]
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Published 2020-03-11

Effectively Wild Episode 1512: Let’s Predict This Decade

68 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Padres outfield un-fun facts, then discuss MLB’s $1 million “The Vault” competition to predict several statistical leaders of the 2020s, producing their picks in each category, reviewing how hard it would have been to pick the winners of the 2010s, and ruminating on the nature of baseball predictions […]
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Published 2020-03-09

Effectively Wild Episode 1511: Season Preview Series: Twins and Pirates

97 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Mike Trout’s career spring training stats, then preview the 2020 Minnesota Twins (9:01) with the The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman, and the 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates (46:33) with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey, plus a conversation between Ben and Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller (1:19:30) about Keller’s historically unlucky debut MLB […]
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Published 2020-03-06

Effectively Wild Episode 1510: Season Preview Series: Red Sox and Giants

75 min
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Meg Rowley and Sam Miller briefly banter about the state of Chris Sale’s arm and appreciating one’s friends when they are on vacation, then preview the 2020 Boston Red Sox (4:40) with the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, and the 2020 San Francisco Giants (38:40) with The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee. Audio intro: David Bowie, “Under Pressure” Audio interstitial […]
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Published 2020-03-05

Effectively Wild Episode 1509: To All Hosts Other Than Ben Lindbergh

58 min
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With Ben Lindbergh on vacation, Meg Rowley and Sam Miller answer a few very special listener emails on Shohei Ohtani, what they want to know about the 2020 season (complete with a twist), and how we treat umpires. Plus, a Statblast! Audio intro: The Police, “Message In A Bottle” Audio outro: Letters to Cleo, “Cruel to be […]
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Published 2020-03-02

Effectively Wild Episode 1508: Season Preview Series: Nationals and Royals

73 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Twins reliever Zack Littell’s powerful affinity for cruise ships and bidding for baseballs from a baseball movie, then preview the 2020 Washington Nationals (12:39) with the Washington Post’s Sam Fortier, and the 2020 Kansas City Royals (40:26) with The Athletic’s Alec Lewis. Audio intro: Frankie Ford, "Sea Cruise" Audio interstitial […]
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Published 2020-02-28

Effectively Wild Episode 1507: Season Preview Series: Mets and Blue Jays

93 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about passing the halfway point of the season preview series, Zach Eflin’s spring training feedback on a possibly less lively baseball, the effect of sign stealing on the average time between pitches, a recent rash of spring pitcher injuries, and the incredible career trajectory of former Phillies GM Ruben […]
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Published 2020-02-26

Effectively Wild Episode 1506: Season Preview Series: Athletics and Rockies

78 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Astros confiscating signs at spring training and Madison Bumgarner’s rodeo alter ego, Mason Saunders, then preview the 2020 Athletics (13:58) with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, and the 2020 Rockies (39:47) with The Athletic’s Nick Groke, plus a postscript on the implications of Luis Severino’s season-ending […]
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Published 2020-02-24

Effectively Wild Episode 1505: Sign Stealing is a Flat Circle

42 min
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In a special narrative episode of Effectively Wild, Ben Lindbergh traces the parallels between baseball’s latest sign-stealing crisis and an almost 60-year-old sign-stealing scandal that caused a comparable upheaval in the sport, drawing on archival clips, contemporary music, and interviews with author Paul Dickson and former major leaguers Eddie Robinson, Al Worthington, and Jay Hook […]
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Published 2020-02-22

Effectively Wild Episode 1504: Suing the Sign Stealers

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Will we see baseball’s sign stealers in court, or will attempts to take legal action be a suing and a miss? In a bonus episode of EW, Ben Lindbergh talks to sports-law expert Nathaniel Grow about the viability of and precedents for several lawsuits related to MLB’s ongoing sign-stealing scandal, as well as another case […]
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Published 2020-02-22

Effectively Wild Episode 1503: Season Preview Series: Indians and Rangers

74 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the AL/NL distribution of the season preview pods so far and a few notable numbers from the newly published FanGraphs playoff odds, then preview the 2020 Indians (8:11) with Sports Illustrated’s T.J. Zuppe, and the 2020 Rangers (38:55) with The Athletic’s Levi Weaver. Audio intro: Della Mae, "The Odds […]
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Published 2020-02-20

Effectively Wild Episode 1502: Running Interference

69 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about walk-off balks, a Zack Greinke oral history, and how teams will use the new 26th roster spot, break down the responses to a Jayson Stark survey of baseball insiders about the winter and upcoming season, and answer listener emails about players’ outspoken criticisms of the Astros’ sign-stealing and […]
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Published 2020-02-17

Effectively Wild Episode 1501: Season Preview Series: Braves and Phillies

106 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest developments in the escalating player war of words over the Astros sign-stealing scandal, José Altuve‘s alleged unfinished tattoo, Rob Manfred’s roundly criticized comments, Shohei Ohtani’s new driver’s license, and a modest pay hike for minor leaguers. Then they preview the 2020 Braves (34:29) with From the […]
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Published 2020-02-15

Effectively Wild Episode 1500: Even More Things We Like About Baseball

77 min
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In the third incarnation of a time-honored tradition that recurs every 500-ish episodes, Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Meg Rowley are joined by The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee and ex-EW cohost (and current Tampa Bay Rays “Analyst, Baseball Development”) Jeff Sullivan to draft assorted things that they like about baseball. Audio intro: Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack, […]
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Published 2020-02-14

Effectively Wild Episode 1499: Season Preview Series: Angels and Cardinals

127 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about why the Astros sign-stealing scandal won’t go away, and the reception to the team’s first attempts to apologize. Then they preview the 2020 Angels (28:13) with The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, and the 2020 Cardinals (1:03:49) with MLB.com’s Will Leitch. Lastly (1:37:15), Ben talks to FanGraphs’ Craig Edwards about […]
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Published 2020-02-10

Effectively Wild Episode 1498: Season Preview Series: Cubs and Diamondbacks

117 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the remade Mookie Betts trade, the latest revelations about the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal (including “Codebreaker” and “the dark arts”), and the Mets’ failed sale to hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen. Then they preview the 2020 Cubs (46:13) with The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma, and the 2020 Diamondbacks (1:20:08) with […]
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Published 2020-02-05

Effectively Wild Episode 1496: The Mookie Betts Breakdown

73 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley break down the three-team Mookie Betts blockbuster, analyzing the historic strangeness of a player as good and young as Mookie being moved, what it means for the Red Sox and Dodgers competitively and financially, how Red Sox fans must feel about Betts (and David Price) being traded, why the Red […]
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Published 2020-02-03

Effectively Wild Episode 1495: Season Preview Series: Reds and Brewers

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In the first installment of the eighth annual Effectively Wild season preview series, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller preview the 2020 Reds with The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans, and the 2020 Brewers (40:26) with The Athletic’s Derek VanRiper. Audio intro: Dispatch, "Begin Again" Audio interstitial: The Decemberists, "A Beginning Song" Audio outro: Imperial Teen, "The Beginning" Link to […]
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Published 2020-01-31

Effectively Wild Episode 1494: Listen to What the Bang Said

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley recap and consider the implications of the latest and greatest analyses of the Astros’ banging scheme, which appear to show that the team’s cheating didn’t increase its offensive production in the aggregate. Then (20:08) they talk to the man who made that research possible, longtime Astros fan Tony Adams, about […]
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Published 2020-01-30

Effectively Wild Episode 1493: Getting Dusty in Here

65 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the “vibrathrob” episode, the Astros hiring Dusty Baker, Kris Bryant reportedly losing his service-time grievance, and Delmon Young raking in Australia, then answer listener emails about a disrespectful intro for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, teams patenting tactics, and the enduring legacy of Carlos Beltrán’s NLCS-ending strikeout, plus Stat Blasts about […]
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Published 2020-01-28

Effectively Wild Episode 1492: The Hidden Hall of Famer

66 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about umpire crew chiefs getting microphones for the 2020 season, the Reds signing Nick Castellanos and the small gaps between the top four teams in the NL Central, the Diamondbacks trading for Starling Marte and whether the Dodgers can be beaten in the NL West, and MLB getting sued […]
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Published 2020-01-24

Effectively Wild Episode 1491: The Baseball Ombudsperson

77 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mitch Haniger’s excruciating-sounding injuries, how Mariners fans may feel about the Braves signing Félix Hernández, the winter of Nolan Arenado’s discontent, where the Rockies went wrong, the oddness of being a baseball player, why Scott Boras believes Astros players shouldn’t apologize for stealing signs (and why he’s wrong), […]
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Published 2020-01-23

Effectively Wild Episode 1490: Yeah Jeets

74 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller do a brief, spoiler-free followup on their Knives Out banter from the previous episode, then break down the elections of Derek Jeter and Larry Walker to the Hall of Fame, touching on the contrast between their voting trajectories, how and why Walker made it, the lone Jeter ballot holdout, the […]
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Published 2020-01-21

Effectively Wild Episode 1489: Let’s Create an Award

72 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the symbolism of the baseball in Knives Out (beware of slight spoilers from 4:17 to 10:32), follow up on a few reader suggestions about outside hires who could clean up the Astros, and discuss the latest developments in the sign-stealing scandal, then try to invent a new end-of-season […]
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Published 2020-01-18

Effectively Wild Episode 1488: Wrinkle, Wrinkle, Little Star

67 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller review a wild, rumor-filled Thursday in baseball, touching on Jessica Mendoza’s comments about Mike Fiers, the end of Carlos Beltrán’s brief tenure as Mets manager, the Mets’ handling of his exit, the saga of not-Beltrán’s-niece, Twitter detectives following alleged leads about buzzers, Alex Bregman, and José Altuve, how efforts to […]
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Published 2020-01-15

Effectively Wild Episode 1487: We Remembered Some Guys

100 min
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Red Sox firing Alex Cora, the Twins signing Josh Donaldson, an uptick in online player pettiness, fans taunting the visiting Astros, and a baseball-themed Jeopardy! clue. Then (22:30) Ben and Sam Miller banter about baseball fandom as a form of family bonding and the appeal of Remembering […]
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